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Re: [rootsradicals] Fresh from the box

Right on! I just picked up my Big Dummy on Sunday, first day I took my girlfriend, her luggage, and my bowling ball to the rain station. So much fun I can

Message 1 of 12
, Apr 3, 2008

Right on! I just picked up my Big Dummy on Sunday, first day I took my girlfriend, her luggage, and my bowling ball to the rain station. So much fun I can hardly stand it.

I've passed another Xtracycle owner twice now in the few days since, and we grin at each other from the opposite sides of the road, probably because we're having more fun doing our day-to-day than the other folks on the road.

...ahhh, just got my extra and have joined the (your) cult. Built it up on a 29er platform where I have about 2mm of clearance between the tires & edges of the extracycle. It rolls like magic. Already toted 5 gallons of paint + various bits and on another run a rented industrial paint compressor. The claimed "gravity juju" is real. The look on the clerk's face when he helped me carry all the stuff out was priceless.

The best part is that my 5 year old LOVES riding on the snapdeck outfitted with a cozy pad from clevercycles.

So, "Hi" to all you other people who just rarely, if ever, reach for the car keys... it's pretty cool.

Anne Littlebird

Oh my God! We re a cult? How weird is that? The sun finally came out 2 days in a row. Maybe it will stay for a few more. I m tired of riding in the rain. Anne

Message 2 of 12
, Apr 6, 2008

Oh my God! We're a cult? How weird is that?

The sun finally came out 2 days in a row. Maybe it will stay for a few
more. I'm tired of riding in the rain.

Anne

charliewicker wrote:

>
> ...ahhh, just got my extra and have joined the (your) cult. Built it
> up on a 29er platform where I have about 2mm of clearance between the
> tires & edges of the extracycle. It rolls like magic. Already toted 5
> gallons of paint + various bits and on another run a rented industrial
> paint compressor. The claimed "gravity juju" is real. The look on the
> clerk's face when he helped me carry all the stuff out was priceless.
>
> The best part is that my 5 year old LOVES riding on the snapdeck
> outfitted with a cozy pad from clevercycles.
>
> So, "Hi" to all you other people who just rarely, if ever, reach for
> the car keys... it's pretty cool.
>
>

Mark Garvey

Why YES! didn t you KNOW? We are all going to move into a compound in Texas and build a high wall, and keep everyone out but True Believers

Message 3 of 12
, Apr 6, 2008

Why YES! didn't you KNOW? We are all going to move into a compound in Texas and build a high wall, and keep everyone out but "True Believers"

The sun finally came out 2 days in a row. Maybe it will stay for a few
more. I'm tired of riding in the rain.
Anne

charliewicker wrote:
>
> ...ahhh, just got my extra and have joined the (your) cult. Built it
> up on a 29er platform where I have about 2mm of clearance between the
> tires & edges of the extracycle. It rolls like magic. Already toted 5
> gallons of paint + various bits and on another run a rented industrial
> paint compressor. The claimed "gravity juju" is real. The look on the
> clerk's face when he helped me carry all the stuff out was priceless.
>
> The best part is that my 5 year old LOVES riding on the snapdeck
> outfitted with a cozy pad from clevercycles.
>
> So, "Hi" to all you other people who just rarely, if ever, reach for
> the car keys... it's pretty cool.
>
>

------------------------------------

You're getting this message because you signed up to be an Xtracycle roots radical.

-- Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime. Teach a man to cycle and he will realize fishing is stupid and boring. –Desmond Tutu

tda0818

Don t forget the weapons caches and the wife-swapping. All the other cults would laugh at us if we didn t have weapons caches and wife-swapping. -- urbino ...

Message 4 of 12
, Apr 6, 2008

Don't forget the weapons caches and the wife-swapping. All the other
cults would laugh at us if we didn't have weapons caches and
wife-swapping.

-- urbino

--- In rootsradicals@yahoogroups.com, "Mark Garvey" <lazybee45@...> wrote:
>
> Why YES! didn't you KNOW? We are all going to move into a compound
in Texas
> and build a high wall, and keep everyone out but "True Believers"
>
> Bwahahahahahahaha!
>
> mark
>

kwikfile08

Hey lenny - When we move on the farm, can I pet the rabbits? You know I won t hurt em, you know i ll treat them real good... Carl

Message 5 of 12
, Apr 6, 2008

Hey lenny -

When we move on the farm, can I pet the rabbits? You know I won't hurt'em, you know i'll
treat them real good...

Carl

--- In rootsradicals@yahoogroups.com, "tda0818" <tda0818@...> wrote:
>
> Don't forget the weapons caches and the wife-swapping. All the other
> cults would laugh at us if we didn't have weapons caches and
> wife-swapping.
>
> -- urbino
>
> --- In rootsradicals@yahoogroups.com, "Mark Garvey" <lazybee45@> wrote:
> >
> > Why YES! didn't you KNOW? We are all going to move into a compound
> in Texas
> > and build a high wall, and keep everyone out but "True Believers"
> >
> > Bwahahahahahahaha!
> >
> > mark
> >
>

Tone

Carl, I do not know how rabbits came into the topic of our little Xtracycle cult discussion, but since we are on the subject. I once hauled a pet rabbit in a

Message 6 of 12
, Apr 6, 2008

Carl,

I
do not know how rabbits came into the topic of our little Xtracycle cult
discussion, but since we are on the subject…

I once hauled a pet rabbit in a plastic pet carrier on the
top of my snap deck. The rabbit, Spencer, was being moved using my Xtracycle from
my wife’s old apartment to my apartment back when we were living in Brooklyn. On that
same trip I carried a six foot ladder, five potted plants, a suitcase of
clothes or whatever, and either a computer monitor of small TV (I forget
which). J I actually
moved ALL of my wife’s stuff from her old apartment to my place over the
course of several trips during a two week time period, including a futon mattress
and frame. J

Rabbits
can be quite skittish when it comes to things like transporting them, and I am
sure Spencer was scared to death, but the alternative would have been an
utterly traumatizing ride on the noisy-as-hell subway. J Casual slow
bike rides through residential area while avoiding as many potholes as possible
are WAY better. J

_TONE_

kwikfile08

In our Cult Ranch in Texas - I wanted to be the one to take care of the Rabbits darn it! Somebody will have to do it right? Anyway - While you shared your

Message 7 of 12
, Apr 6, 2008

In our Cult Ranch in Texas - I wanted to be the one to take care of the Rabbits darn it!
Somebody will have to do it right?

Anyway - While you shared your moving story. I remembered that I loaded two bags of
fertilizer, and numerous small potted tomato plants from home depot, up a 600 ft climb
over three miles. I am not tooting my horn because the full apartment move over 2 -
weeks is pretty hard what with all the back and forth. How is Spencer by the way?

have a great week! Keep cycling and recycling!

Carl

--- In rootsradicals@yahoogroups.com, "Tone" <Tone@...> wrote:
>
> Carl,
> I do not know how rabbits came into the topic of our little
> Xtracycle cult discussion, but since we are on the subject.
> I once hauled a pet rabbit in a plastic pet carrier on the top of my
> snap deck. The rabbit, Spencer, was being moved using my Xtracycle from
> my wife's old apartment to my apartment back when we were living in
> Brooklyn. On that same trip I carried a six foot ladder, five potted
> plants, a suitcase of clothes or whatever, and either a computer monitor
> of small TV (I forget which). :-) I actually moved ALL of my wife's
> stuff from her old apartment to my place over the course of several
> trips during a two week time period, including a futon mattress and
> frame. :-)
> Rabbits can be quite skittish when it comes to things like
> transporting them, and I am sure Spencer was scared to death, but the
> alternative would have been an utterly traumatizing ride on the
> noisy-as-hell subway. :-) Casual slow bike rides through residential
> area while avoiding as many potholes as possible are WAY better. :-)
> _TONE_
>

Anne Littlebird

Took my cat Gandhi to the vet the other day on the X. Can t say he liked it. But then he doesn t like the vet either. It did freak out quite a few people I

Message 8 of 12
, Apr 6, 2008

Took my cat Gandhi to the vet the other day on the X. Can't say he liked
it. But then he doesn't like the vet either.

It did freak out quite a few people I passed though. Note of caution -
never teach your cat to say Mama then put him on the back of a strange
looking bicycle in a carrier. If I had a video I'd be rich. Large cat
shreaking a recognizable Mawma! Siamese are cool - except on the back of
an X.

Tone wrote:

>
> Carl,
>
> I do not know how rabbits came into the topic of our little Xtracycle
> cult discussion, but since we are on the subject…
>
> I once hauled a pet rabbit in a plastic pet carrier on the top of my
> snap deck. The rabbit, Spencer, was being moved using my Xtracycle
> from my wife’s old apartment to my apartment back when we were living
> in Brooklyn. On that same trip I carried a six foot ladder, five
> potted plants, a suitcase of clothes or whatever, and either a
> computer monitor of small TV (I forget which). J I actually moved ALL
> of my wife’s stuff from her old apartment to my place over the course
> of several trips during a two week time period, including a futon
> mattress and frame. J
>
> Rabbits can be quite skittish when it comes to things like
> transporting them, and I am sure Spencer was scared to death, but the
> alternative would have been an utterly traumatizing ride on the
> noisy-as-hell subway. J Casual slow bike rides through residential
> area while avoiding as many potholes as possible are WAY better. J
>
> _/TONE/_
>
>

Anne Littlebird

Thank God I m not longer married. No swappin for me. But I do have 2 tai chi swords, a katana and a long bow. Does that count?

Message 9 of 12
, Apr 6, 2008

Thank God I'm not longer married. No swappin' for me.

But I do have 2 tai chi swords, a katana and a long bow. Does that count?

tda0818 wrote:

>
> Don't forget the weapons caches and the wife-swapping. All the other
> cults would laugh at us if we didn't have weapons caches and
> wife-swapping.
>
> -- urbino
>
> --- In rootsradicals@yahoogroups.com
> <mailto:rootsradicals%40yahoogroups.com>, "Mark Garvey"
> <lazybee45@...> wrote:
> >
> > Why YES! didn't you KNOW? We are all going to move into a compound
> in Texas
> > and build a high wall, and keep everyone out but "True Believers"
> >
> > Bwahahahahahahaha!
> >
> > mark
> >
>
>

Tone

Carl, When I moved my girlfriend (now wife) into my apartment a couple years ago, she only lived about 15 blocks away, so going back and forth was not too

Message 10 of 12
, Apr 8, 2008

Carl,

When
I moved my girlfriend (now wife) into my apartment a couple years ago, she only
lived about 15 blocks away, so going back and forth was not too terrible. I
think it sometimes took longer to load up her stuff than it took to actually
ride to my place. J

You
mentioning fertilizer and potted plants up a 600 foot climb makes me think we
are on the topic of mega loads… check these photos out:

I
should mention I do not recommend this massive load carrying to anyone with an
Xtracycle or a Big Dummy. I was very fortunate because I only had to ride about
ten blocks with it. Except for literally three turns once I was out of the Home
Depot parking lot it was primarily straight riding on not-so busy streets. In
fact the Home Depot parking lot was the toughest part because of the
maneuvering around the lines of parked cars as well as the moving cars. In fact
when making 90 degree turns in the parking lot I actually straddled the bike
and walked it.

I
also had a major problem when I pulled out of the parking lot into the street.
That problem was called the gutter! I did not take into account the slope of
the driveway out of the lot over the sidewalk down into the street. The street
itself has a gradual slope off to the side to allow rain run-off, so when I
biked down into the gutter the long boards jammed me into a stuck position. With
no motion and the ultra-bulky load I became off balance and the bike fell
sideways. It was definitely not fun having to completely re-load my bike and
rebalance all the cargo back on the sidewalk while the backed up line of cars
from Home Depot looked on.

In
retrospect it was pretty stupid of me to attempt the load. It was obviously
do-able for me, but certainly not wise. I was building a custom installed bed
for someone and I wanted to save my time and money by not having to make two
trips. I guess the hardcore Xtracyclist part of me was also very curious to see
if I could really do it too. Not to self and others: Most Home Depots and Lowes
type mega-hardware stores will let you walk a bike through the store. Save
yourself from locking up your bike outside and use it as your cart inside. This
way you do not end up overloading. Can you tell I locked up outside and used a
cart inside when I bought all that lumber in those photos. J <Sigh>

Off
the topic of Xtracycles, since you asked about how Spencer is doing, I am sorry
to report Spencer passed away about a year ago. Spencer was not exactly a young
bunny when my wife moved into my apartment back in Brooklyn. Within two
years we moved out to York, Pennsylvania and sadly
Spencer died a few months later. Spencer was actually a she (the original
veterinarian did not correctly identify her sex, which is sometime difficult to
do when rabbits are young), and female rabbits are sometimes at risk of ovarian
cancer when they are older. Usually having female rabbits spayed earlier on
will negate any risk of such cancer (as well as unwanted pregnancy of course),
but we did not even know Spencer was a she until about a year before we moved
to PA. At that point such surgery is more traumatizing to a rabbit and not
recommended.

While
this report may seem rather depressing, do not be too sad. Spencer was over 8
years old, which is a fairly good age for a house rabbit. Also, within a month
my wife missed having a rabbit around, so we ended up adopting a brother and
sister pair of rabbits from a local animal shelter. Rabbits are very social
creatures, so if anyone ever decides to get pet rabbits getting two or more is
recommended. Just MAKE SURE they get along or are at least familiar with each
other enough not to kill each other. Our to little ones got into hair-pulling
hurricane matches occasionally to assert territorial dominance when introduced
to new areas of our apartment, but they eventually cooled off and are good
buddies now.

In
case anyone cares, below are some photo links. The girl bunny is called
Marzipan, or sometimes just “Marzee” for short, because her
coloring and sweet nature reminded us of the candy made from almond paste, egg
whites, and sugar. The boy bunny is called Sergio because he looks like he has
a mustache and my favorite comic artist is Sergio Aragones, who has an almost
signature handle-bar mustache.

Marzi
on the windowsill in my home office... She likes to jump up onto anything she
can. We actually had to alter our bunny fencing around our apartment to TRY to
keep her contained because she would just jump over the fences.

Sergio
NOT looking like a mouse… and yes, rabbits can be trained fairly easily to
use a litter box. You mainly have to concern yourself with house rabbits
chewing on everything and shedding their hair on your furniture, etc.

…and
I apologize to everyone for taking this thread off-topic. Carl just had to ask
about our deceased rabbit Spencer, so I wanted to lighten the mood. Also, my
wife and I do not have children, so with all this talk going on about carrying
kids on Xtracycles… Marzipan and Sergio are the closest thing we got. J Just be happy
my wife is not on this mailing list. She has lots more photos of them. J

_TONE_

Mark Garvey

... I have not had the opportunity to carry a kitty on my X. We have TWO. But I did bring home a large Goldfish one day in the freeloaders. Evidently it

Large cat
shreaking a recognizable Mawma! Siamese are cool - except on the back of
an X.

I have not had the opportunity to carry a kitty on my X. We have TWO. But I did bring home a large Goldfish one day in the freeloaders. Evidently it didn't harm him..uh...her....it...whatever (ever try to sex a Goldfish? NOT easy and even experts get it wrong about half the time!) the BEST thing about a fish is that they don't make much noise and they rarely freak out!

mark-- Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime. Teach a man to cycle and he will realize fishing is stupid and boring. –Desmond Tutu

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